title: Narratives of aggressive care: Knowledge, time, and responsibility.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While witnessing and providing aggressive care have been identified as predominant sources of moral distress, little is known about what nurses "know" to be the "right thing to do" in these situations.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to explore what nurses' moral knowledge is in situations of perceived overly aggressive medical care.
  
  
  METHODS
  A critical narrative approach was used.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 15 graduate nursing students from various practice areas participated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four narrative types were identified, including "Wait and see: medical uncertainty," "Deflected responsibilities to respond to dying, death, or futility," "Divergent understandings, responsibilities, and temporalities," and "Privileged medical understandings and responsibilities."
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The knowledge of differentially situated persons is acknowledged in dissimilar ways, the time required to determine that enough has been done is perceived differently, and how moral responsibilities are understood also varies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A better understanding of how social roles influence how time, knowledge, and responsibility are related to the provision of aggressive care is needed.
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Canada elizabeth.peter@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peter
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohammed
authors.affiliation: University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simmonds
mesh_terms: D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D019513:Feminism; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Aggressive care; end-of-life; feminist ethics; knowledge; moral distress; narrative